Catholicism: What is an Anglican-use Parish or Community?
Ask any former Anglican or Episcopalian convert to Catholicism what he or she misses most. The answer almost always includes music. As former Anglicans--members of the Episcopal Church in the United States--my husband and I usually give the same response. We also miss the beautiful "thee's" and "thou's" of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, which for many years was the basis of the liturgy used in the Episcopal Church, and the enthusiasm with which many parishioners embraced singing in church.
Many Anglican-to-Catholic converts are thrilled when they discover the possibility of becoming a member of what is known as an Anglican-use parish or community. According to the Anglican Use Society, Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, DC and named a Roman Catholic cardinal in 2010, is in charge of bringing current and former Anglicans into the Catholic church in the United States.
The Converts
In some cases, entire parishes and their clergy are leaving the Episcopal Church to convert as a group. The Catholic Church typically allows their married male clergy to become Catholic priests.
In other situations, current and former Anglicans who have already converted to Catholicism can form a group to become part of what is called a personal ordinariate. This is a structure resembling a diocese and is created to bring these individuals into full communion with the Catholic Church. Those who have not already converted complete a formal educational process.
Anglican-use groups therefore consist of both parishes and communities--currently numbering around 10 in the U.S.--as well as groups like the St. Thomas of Canterbury Society in DC that seek to become part of an ordinariate. According to information received from the DC society, their ordinariate is likely to be formed by the end of 2011.
Among the groups that have converted is a religious order, All Saints Sisters of the Poor, a former Episcopal order in Catonsville, Maryland. One of the biggest logistical problems for groups seeking to be within an ordinariate is finding a place to celebrate their liturgies. Typically, it's a Catholic Church or a monastery.
What's Different
The Anglican Church arose as the result of a splinter from Roman Catholicism during the reign of England's King Henry VIII. For at least a century, frustrating efforts from both directions have been underway to reunite the faithful of each group.
The idea behind an Anglican-use parish was for Rome to allow current and former Anglicans to become united with the Catholic Church while maintaining many aspects of their heritage and liturgical practices. Though converts are under the authority of a Catholic bishop, members of an Anglican-use parish or community use a familiar liturgy found in the pages of the Book of Divine Worship. This volume represents a compilation of elements from the 1928 and the 1979 editions of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer plus the Roman missal.
Music and More Music
Sacred music has always been a hallmark of Anglican spirituality. Members of an Anglican-use parish or community have the opportunity to continue this practice through the works of musical greats such as Tallis and Vivaldi.
Whether they come into the Catholic Church as part of an Anglican-use parish or a community, these converts have the opportunity to enjoy the best of both liturgies.
Sources:
Published by Vonda J. Sines
Vonda J. Sines has been a writer and an editor her entire adult life. She left a conventional 8-to-5 career to pursue her passion of writing from dawn to dusk. She has worked as a horse, dog and cat rescue... View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentExcellent information in this article. Thanks!
I remember when the catholics went from Italian language to English..